Blair government rocked by WMD lies

As document after document is piled onto the table of the British 
inquiry into the saga of Iraq's non-existent weapons of mass destruction, 
the ratings of leading British Government figures are sliding dramatically. 
Heads are likely to roll.

The chief of the inquiry, Lord Hutton, is demanding that all relevant 
documents be tabled including Cabinet papers that would normally be kept 
secret for 30 years.

These documents have already shown that Alastair Campbell, the Government's 
principle spin doctor gave orders to Tony Blair on how questions on Iraq 
should be answered.

For example, it was Alastair Campbell who coined the words subsequently 
used by Tony Blair that, "The joy on the faces of the children I met tells 
me we did the right thing", and that "The work going on to build basic 
services denied to Iraqis under Saddam tell me we did the right thing".

And getting to the heart of the matter, the documents show that Alastair 
Campbell made many suggestions to alter the dossier used to justify the 
claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

People deceived

An ICM poll revealed that 67 percent of those polled believe that the 
Government deceived them on the question of weapons of mass destruction. 
Only 20 percent said "No" to that question.

Asked whether they thought the government embellished the dossier, 61 
percent said "Yes".

Fifty-two percent called for the resignation of Britain's Minister of 
Defence, Geoff Hoon and 50 percent wanted Alastair Campbell's head on the 
block too. Thirty-three percent called for Tony Blair's resignation.

However, 54 percent still thought that Britain and the US were right to go 
to war with Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein. Forty-one percent were against.

The inquiry which was sparked by the death of Dr Kelly, a scientist who had 
been a weapons inspector in Iraq, is continuing and more sensational 
revelations can be expected.

A parliamentary inquiry is proceeding in Australia but much of the 
necessary information is to be kept secret and consequently it is much more 
likely to be a whitewash of the Howard Government's lies than is the case 
with the British inquiry.